Never Let Go
by Wildfire2345
Summary: The final moments of the R.M.S. Titanic. Written in Rose's POV. R&R!


**A.N. **– This is my first Titanic fic. I'm not really excited about it (the only part I liked was the beginning), but maybe someone will like it. I watched the movie tonight and this just jumped on me while I was typing, so I posted it. :) I might have gotten some of the details wrong, and excuse me for that, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. I also may have screwed up on the tenses, and I'm sorry for that too.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own any part of _Titanic_. I'm just messing around in that world for a little while.

**Never let go**

The dark, ominous depths of the ocean loom ever closer, its water churning as if in warning of the horrors we were about to face. I clutch at the railing with numb fingers – numb from shock, numb from cold. Distantly I hear Jack issuing orders to hold my breath on his signal and I nod, almost uncomprehending, staring at our inevitable fate.

"Take a deep breath and hold it right before we go into the water. The ship will suck us down. Kick for the surface and keep kicking. Don't let go of my hand. We're gonna make it Rose. Trust me."

I could only stare at the water coming up at us.

"I trust you," I said, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it tight.

I glance to my right and lock eyes with a pale, mustached man. He is also gripping the rail, a nearly empty bottle of whiskey in one hand. He looks at me with pleading eyes and I must turn away; I can do no more for him than I could for myself, or for Jack, or for the thousands of others whom I had seen succumb to horrid deaths.

The water is coming closer. I can almost feel the cold radiating from it and try not to imagine the feel of its contact with my skin.

"_I'm telling ya, water that cold, like right down there, it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can't breathe. You can't think. At least, not about anything but the pain."_

Jack had used those words to persuade me not to surrender myself to the trials and tribulations of life, not to take the easy way out. That was a different me – a different Rose, one trapped within the confines and traditions of high society. Jack rescued that Rose, and she morphed into me. Free, soaring with the wind.

It seemed so long since that Rose had ever walked the decks of the _R.M.S. Titanic_.

And as I gazed, captivated, at what I knew would surely be my ultimate demise, I realize: no one would ever again walk the decks of the_ R.M.S. Titanic_.

I can feel Jack's blue eyes burning into my skin. I turn to face him and, despite the circumstances, I can almost feel my heart melt at the look of complete adoration and love so blatantly displayed on his handsome face.

We are going to make it. We _have _to make it.

"Ready, Rose?" said Jack loudly, barely to be heard over the rushing of the water as it claimed the lower decks of the ship. "Hold your breath – NOW!"

Paralyzed with fear, knowing what was to come but unable to do a thing about it, I do as Jack tells me. Then, we are submerged in the icy Atlantic Ocean.

I can hardly think. The weight of the water is crushing down upon me from every direction, and I can almost feel the life being squeezed out of me. My lungs gasp for air but I can do nothing to appease them.

Jack.

His hand gripping mine is the only thing securing me, keeping me from floating away. I kick my legs desperately, trying to discern which direction was up to no avail. I can almost make out Jack's figure through the thick, dense water and I see he is flailing his legs as well. I have never felt so oppressed, so close to death. My life is hanging by a thread, and scenes of earlier, happier times flood me, unbidden.

I see my mother, occupying herself with knitting while my father again engrossed himself in the morning paper. A much younger version of myself sat alone, in a white sundress, staring at my parents – begging them for just a moment of acknowledgment. I remember wanting so badly to act like normal girls – common, peasant girls – who were not berated for slouching and could eat candy on a regular basis without being scolded. Girls who had happy lives, with parents who cared . . .

Cal's face flashed for an instant in my mind. We were standing alone in the center of a luxurious garden, the most romantic spot in the world, and yet I felt no emotion. I had become accustomed to that feeling while around him. Without warning, he bends down to one knee and slips his hand in his pocket, extracting a blue velvet box. Inside is the largest, grandest diamond ring I have ever seen – even on my mother. I feel my breath catch and my heart sink lower in my stomach. I didn't want to marry _him_! I wanted love, the kind that I read about in fairytales as a younger girl. The kind of love where the noble prince would drop anything, hop onto his white steed, and ride off into the night to rescue his fair maiden from some evil ogre.

I had thought, mistakenly, that such love did not exist. Until I found my prince.

Next I see Jack, complete with his trademark messy blonde hair and rumpled clothing that have probably not seen a bath for months. He is showing me his portfolio of drawings, and I am stunned, though trying hard not to show it. I remember one in particular of a little girl and her father, gazing out into the open ocean. My picture has yet to be added to his collection.

I see his eyes – dizzying, hypnotizing blue. I could lose myself in them forever and would have nary a regret.

I feel his hands. His touch is soft and soothing and gentle, and I yearn for more.

Then reality comes crashing back down on me. I am back in the water, but Jack's hand is no longer enveloped reassuringly in mine. I grope for him in the darkness for a few seconds, before my need for air becomes too overpowering and I am forced to try for the surface.

I breath the clean air in deeply, relishing in the smell and the feel. I am so cold now that I can't feel the rest of my body.

"Jack?" I mumble through numb lips. "Jack! JACK!"

I search the sea of screaming, helpless victims feverishly, but I can't find him anywhere I look. There is just too much confusion, a roiling chaos of senseless people trying to claw their way from the water. One voice mingles with a dozen others to sound an eerie cacophony of stricken voices that hovers for a long while over the sheer curtain of water.

Suddenly I feel myself being pushed back underneath the relative safety of the surface. I bob back up – thanks to my life-jacket – and gasp for air. I hear a man screaming, and then I am back underneath. No, no, he needs to stop!

"Hey!" a familiar voice exclaims, followed by a dull _thud_. "Get off her!"

I whirl around as quickly as my surroundings will allow. "Jack," I breathe, relieved.

He smiles weakly, his precious lips blue and his face as pale as I had ever seen it. "Swim, Rose," he commands. "Swim!"

I try, but cannot form the strokes properly. I just cannot think; I know I am crying, and I know that this is the end.

"Just keep swimming, Rose," said Jack, performing the strokes methodically to keep from freezing. "Keep moving. Come on, you can do it."

The horizon before us reveals nothing. No hope, just an endless expanse of black ocean.

"Look for something floating," said Jack. "Some debris . . . wood . . . anything."

"It's so cold," I moan, trembling.

"I know, I know. Here, help me. Look around."

My red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes scanned the sea. "What's that?" I asked, pointing at what appeared to be a door, floating on the surface not far off. We make for it together. With Jack helping me, I slither up onto the piece of ornately carved wood. I try to help pull him up, but it tilts and almost submerges beneath his weight. Jack slides off and clings close to it, close to me, trying to support himself. I knew he hardly had a chance in that cold water.

We stayed like that for a long while. A ship's officer is nearby, with his own floatation device. He is blowing furiously on his whistle, and the sound carries desolately over the distance.

Jack looked at me and tried to smile. "The boats will come back for us, Rose," he whispered. "Hold on just a little longer. They had to row away for the suction and now they'll be coming back."

I nod, his words soothing me. I am shivering uncontrollably, as is he. He pulls my hand close and kisses it lightly.

All around us, people in the water are crying desperately to the people in the rowboats only a few miles off. They are begging, pleading. I still cannot see the boats, but I know they're coming. They have to, they can't just leave us all out hear stranded in the middle of the ocean when they have means to help.

They can't.

We laid under the stars, freezing close to death. Jack continued moving his legs around in hopes of warmth, but I could tell his endeavors were near fruitless.

The sea is completely calm. I can see the reflections of the stars in the glassy water that had only a short time ago claimed the lives of so many.

Jack begins rubbing my arms, the pallor of his features alarming.

"It's getting quiet," I whisper.

"Just a few more minutes," said Jack. "It'll take them a while to get the boats organized, that's all."

I did not move. Could it be that the boats _weren't _going to come back to help us? If that was it, then why?

The officer beside us has stopped moving, his whistle hanging from his limp fingers. I can tell he has already died, and I silently pray that Jack and I will not end our lives the same way.

Jack's blue lips curled into a smile. "I don't know about you," he started, "but I intend to write a very strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this."

I tried to laugh. "I love you, Jack."

He took my hand. "No, don't say your good-byes yet, Rose. Don't you give up. Don't do it."

"I'm so cold." It is true. I can barely move.

Jack found my eyes and stared intently into them for the longest while. "You're going to get out this. You're going to go on and you're going to make lots of babies and watch them grow. You're going to die an old lady, warm in your bed. Not here. Not this night. Do you understand me?"

"I – I can't feel my body." Tears streamed down my cheeks.

"Rose, listen to me. Listen. Winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me." He gazes at me, having some difficulty speaking. "It brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose." He was trembling with the cold, but his eyes were strong.

"You must do me this honor," said Jack slowly, trying hard to get his lips around the words. "Promise me you'll survive, that you'll never give up. No matter what happens . . . no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, and never let go of that promise."

"I promise."

"Never let go."

I kissed his hand. "I promise. I will never let go, Jack. I'll never let go." We laid there in silence with our heads together as the sea lapped around us.

_I'll never let go._

**A.N. **– This movie is so sad! Why did Jack have to die? Ah, well. I'm a sucker for tragic romance. Anyway, please Review and tell me honestly what you thought! Constructive criticism welcome.


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